Russia: rise in aggressive online behaviour among teenagers
Analysts are seeing a rise in aggressive online behaviour among teenagers
23.03.2026
Article published on the ASI website
Over the past year, the number of negative posts about school among teenagers has risen by 89%. A study has revealed an increase in abusive and threatening messages against a backdrop of stress and dissatisfaction with the education system.
The research agency Pressindex has analysed 2.6 million social media posts by teenagers from March 2024 to February 2026. It showed that those responsible for the messages are increasingly using aggressive language when discussing school life and, in some cases, openly stating their intention to harm others.
The number of negative posts is growing, with 1.7 million messages over the past year, compared to 881,000 the year before.
Analysts have identified direct threats as a separate category. Since 2024, nearly 2,500 posts expressing an explicit desire to harm others have been recorded. Although this represents a relatively small proportion, their number has risen: by 26% over the year and 15% during the past six months.
Personal abuse is the most common form of online aggression, with around two million posts being recorded over the last two years, rising by 93% in 2025. Messages that include direct threats and extremely threatening language are less frequent (32,600 cases), but even here there has been a noticeable increase, having gone up by 46% during the last six months.
Peaks in aggressive posts usually coincide with high-profile events. For example, in January, messages increased by 178% compared to the previous month following a series of attacks on schools.
Another surge in activity was evident in September 2024 after attacks on schools in Chelyabinsk and Irkutsk. Spikes in aggressive messages have also been recorded in response to other events such as the blocking of the Roblox gaming platform.
Education experts attribute this phenomenon to heavy teacher workloads and a shortage of specialist staff in schools. Dmitry Kazakov, chair of the Teacher trade union, believes that the absence of psychologists and social educators is leaving children without support.
“Children at school are being left to their own devices, with no adults on hand to help resolve conflict situations”, says Kazakov.
Roman Demyanchuk, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology at St Petersburg State University, said that understanding the reasons behind teenagers’ interest in radical movements requires more detailed research involving sociologists, political scientists, doctors, parents and the authorities.
